Ethiopia

A

Foreign Influence

Attempts by the Portuguese and later by the Jesuits to convert the country to Roman Catholicism led to much conflict. The Jesuits were finally expelled in 1633. For the ensuing 150 years the country was almost entirely isolated from European contact; during this period the capital was established at Gonder, where a number of castles were built. In the middle of the 18th century, the power of the emperors declined and civil war began. In 1769 the English explorer James Bruce traveled through the country in search of the source of the Nile River. In 1805 a British mission sought and obtained a port of entry on the Red Sea. Other Europeans followed in the early 19th century.

Gaining the support of high church officials, a successful brigand from the northwestern frontier, Kassa Haylu, had himself crowned Emperor Theodore II in 1855, after having defeated a number of petty feudal rulers who controlled various sections of the country. He revived the imperial power and endeavored to unite and reform the country.

As the consequence of a two-year delay by Queen Victoria of Great Britain in replying to a letter Theodore had sent, the emperor imprisoned several British officials at Magdala. All diplomatic efforts failed to secure their release. In July 1867 a military force under Sir Robert Napier was dispatched to Ethiopia to force the release of the British prisoners. Landing 3,000 men at Mulkutto on Annesley Bay on January 7, 1868, Napier led his army on a march of 650 km (400 mi) across the mountains, aided by dissatisfied elements of the population, especially in Tigray. Theodore, his power waning and his army dwindling, set out for Magdala to meet the British. The mountain fortress was captured by Napier’s force on April 13, 1868, and Theodore committed suicide to avoid capture. The British then withdrew from the country.

Theodore was succeeded by Emperor Johannes, a Tigray chief who had helped the British. His troubled reign, which lasted 20 years, started by suppressing rival claimants to the throne. Subsequently Johannes had to fight many battles with his foreign enemies: Egyptian, Sudanese, and Italian. The Italians, who had acquired the port of Āseb as early as 1869, took over Massawa from the Egyptians with the approval of Great Britain in 1885. Although Britain and Egypt had promised the emperor free access through this port in 1884, the Italians soon closed it and advanced inland. The emperor defeated them at Dogalī in January 1887 and forced their withdrawal. He then turned his attention to the constantly encroaching Sudanese but was killed in battle against them in March 1889. Menelik II, king of Shoa in central Ethiopia, who for some years enjoyed Italian support, now became emperor of Ethiopia and brought the country under a single authority. He then reconsolidated the empire by extensive conquests and began to introduce reforms.

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B

The Accession of Menelik II

On May 2, 1889, about the time of Menelik II’s accession to full power, he concluded the Treaty of Ucciali with Italy, permitting the Italians to occupy Asmara. On the surface friendly relations were established between the two countries. This treaty, however, was the source of much trouble. The copy in Amharic, the Ethiopian language, stipulated that Ethiopia might, as its option, employ Italy’s good offices in the conduct of its diplomacy. The Italian copy, on the other hand, stated that Ethiopia must do so; this would mean full Italian control over Ethiopia’s foreign affairs. The Italians used this copy and claimed that it gave them a protectorate over Ethiopia on the basis of the 1885 General Act of Berlin. Italy’s insistence on its interpretation of the treaty led Menelik to denounce it on May 11, 1893.

Italy’s claim to a protectorate over Ethiopia was recognized by most European powers, with the exception of France and Russia. In 1891 Great Britain signed a protocol with Italy recognizing Ethiopia as within the Italian sphere of influence, in exchange for an Italian promise not to interfere with the Nile, which the British controlled.

Italy then pushed its advantage by moving southward into Ethiopia. Successes against forces led by Ras Mangasha of Tigray induced great confidence on the part of the Italian commander. But Menelik, who had been importing large quantities of firearms from France and Russia, moved with vigor, gathering troops from all over the country. They met the Italians at Ādwa on March 1, 1896, and inflicted a crushing defeat. On October 26, 1896, a provisional peace concluded at Addis Ababa annulled the Treaty of Ucciali and recognized the independence of Ethiopia. Ethiopia gained new prestige, and European diplomats hurried to the capital that Menelik had built at Addis Ababa (“New Flower”) in 1887.

The Italian defeat left France and Britain face to face in the Nile Valley, with Ethiopian opinion favoring France for having contributed to Italy’s defeat at Ādwa. France now aspired to acquire a position of economic supremacy in Ethiopia and to establish a link with the French colonies in West Africa. Menelik at this time seemed the key to the Nile. In the decade after Ādwa a great expansion of his dominion took place. Trained and sometimes led by French and Russian officers and armed with modern weapons, the Ethiopian troops subdued the king of Kaffa and occupied the lands stretching southward to Lake Rudolf (present-day Lake Turkana) and the Kenya border. On March 20, 1897, Menelik signed a secret Franco-Ethiopian alliance, which fixed Ethiopian boundaries on the Nile River and extended certain commercial concessions and preferences, including railroad construction rights, to France. Two months later, on May 14, 1897, Menelik signed a treaty with Great Britain fixing the boundary between Ethiopia and British Somaliland and granting Britain the right to move arms and ammunition across Ethiopia to use against the followers of an Islamic brotherhood, known as dervishes, in the Nile Valley.

At Fashoda, in Sudan, France failed largely because of the inability of Ethiopian and French troops to join forces as planned, although the Ethiopian army had reached the Nile just above Fashoda. Under British pressure, France finally withdrew from Fashoda on November 3, 1898. This was a setback for France. On May 15, 1902, Menelik concluded a treaty with Britain delimiting Ethiopia’s western boundary and agreeing not to arrest the flow of the Blue Nile. Over four years later, on December 13, 1906, an agreement was signed by France, Britain, and Italy assuring Ethiopian independence but undertaking to respect one another’s special interests if the country should split up. Ethiopia did not take part in this convention. For 25 years Ethiopia had maintained its independence against European encroachments, through the skill of Menelik and the military courage of his people, who by this time were well armed, and through utilization of the mutual jealousies of the rival European powers. See also Scramble for Africa.

Menelik’s health deteriorated around 1906, with paralysis occurring in the following year. Finally, in June 1908, Menelik appointed his grandson, Lij Iyasu, a boy of 12, to be his successor; Ras Tesamma was later appointed regent. In 1911 Ras Tesamma died, and Lij Iyasu, though voted old enough to act for himself, had responsibility without power. Menelik died on December 12, 1913, though his death was long kept a secret. World War I (1914-1918) saved Ethiopia from being carved up by Italy, Great Britain, and France.

Lij Iyasu, whose father, Ras Mikael of Welo, had formerly been a Muslim, let it be known in 1915-1916 that he also was predisposed toward Islam. He claimed to be descended from Muhammad and wore the Muslim turban. He also opened friendly relations with the Germans, Austro-Hungarians, and Ottoman Turks. This concerned the Allied legations in Addis Ababa, who supported the Christian chieftains of Shewa. While Lij Iyasu was in the southern part of the country, the Shewan chiefs massed their forces, marched on Addis Ababa, and on September 27, 1916, crowned Menelik’s daughter, Zauditu, empress and declared Ras Tafari, son of Menelik’s cousin Ras Makonnen, regent and heir to the throne. The following year the railroad from the port of Djibouti to Addis Ababa was completed, giving the capital significant access to the sea for the first time.

C

The Accession of Haile Selassie

The regency of Ras Tafari was stormy. During World War I some of the Allied powers (Britain, France, and Italy), expecting to face a possible German-Turkish invasion of Ethiopia, had agreed in 1916 to allow Italy to assume power in that country if necessary. However, the regent proved capable of governing, and in 1923 Ethiopia was admitted to the League of Nations, assuring the nation’s independence. In 1928 Ras Tafari was crowned as negus (king), and two years later, on November 2, 1930, following the death of Empress Zauditu on April 2, Ras Tafari was crowned emperor and took the throne name Haile Selassie. He came to power with the objective of creating a unified and prosperous state, secure against sedition, dismemberment, or aggression.

Meanwhile, the quest for imperial glory and the humiliating memory of Ādwa gave Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and his Fascist regime an excuse for invading Ethiopia. In that country, feeling toward Italy, none too good at any time, was made even worse by frontier and diplomatic incidents that were magnified in Italy out of all proportion to their real importance.

A clash on December 5, 1934, at Walwal, 100 km (62 mi) on the Ethiopian side of the undemarcated frontier with Italian Somaliland, was referred to the League for an opinion as to responsibility, but its decision, in September 1935, held that neither state was responsible. In the meantime, negotiations with Italy were fruitless and the League of Nations, to which the quarrel had again been referred, offered no help or solution. Finally, as the result of a conference between Britain, France, and Italy, proposals were formulated as a basis for settlement. Ethiopia agreed to open negotiations, but Italy, which had been assembling large forces of troops and munitions in Italian Somaliland and Eritrea, refused. On October 3, 1935, without any declaration of war, the Italians invaded Ethiopia. Although Ethiopia had delayed mobilization until the Italians moved, its poorly armed and equipped troops were able to slow their initial advances.

Threats by Mussolini and German dictator Adolf Hitler prevented other Western European nations from taking strong measures against Italy; no government wanted to become involved in commitments elsewhere that might compromise its actions at home. In 1935 the League of Nations invoked economic and financial sanctions against Italy, but these omitted such important commodities as coal, oil, and steel. The same year Sir Samuel Hoare, British foreign minister, and Pierre Laval, French premier and foreign minister, proposed the dismemberment of Ethiopia to settle Italian claims, but strong adverse sentiment, particularly in Britain, caused the abandonment of this plan. In 1936 the League again appealed for peace, but the sanctions were not expanded.

The Italian troops, commanded by Marshal Pietro Badoglio, entered Addis Ababa on May 5, 1936, but Emperor Haile Selassie had already left. Selassie found refuge in England and later attended the League of Nations at Geneva, Switzerland, where he made a moving speech, declaring, “God and history will remember your judgment.” Italy formally annexed Ethiopia on May 9, 1936; on June 1 the king of Italy was declared emperor, and Ethiopia, combined with Eritrea and Italian Somaliland, was named Italian East Africa.

D

Ethiopia During World War II

The Italian occupation of Ethiopia lasted for only five years, during which time the Ethiopian patriots continued to resist. A year after the outbreak of World War II (1939-1945), on July 12, 1940, Britain officially recognized Ethiopia as an ally and promised liberation in case of victory. Haile Selassie was flown to the Anglo-Egyptian-occupied Sudan to organize Ethiopian resistance. On January 15, 1941, he led his troops into Ethiopia. The British occupied Addis Ababa on April 6, 1941, and Haile Selassie made a formal entry on May 5, 1941. The Italian troops surrendered at Amba Alagi on May 20, 1941. Haile Selassie was reestablished on his throne.

British troops had freed Ethiopia from Italian control, but German and Italian forces menaced Egypt while the British still required a protected land route from the Sudan to the Red Sea. Accordingly, an Anglo-Ethiopian agreement was negotiated in January 1942. It provided for the two allies to collaborate. British civil and military advisers, along with financial and other assistance, were sent to Ethiopia to enable the emperor to reestablish his administration. To maintain internal security, a British military mission undertook the raising, organizing, and training of a regular Ethiopian army.

On December 19, 1944, a new Anglo-Ethiopian agreement was signed as between “two equal and independent powers,” which, however, accorded a preferential status to the British government in respect to the appointment of advisers and management of the currency. The educational system was reorganized and expanded; the railroad to Djibouti was restored to Ethiopian control. In 1945 Ethiopia granted a 50-year oil concession to the Sinclair Oil Company.

E

Postwar Ethiopia

Ethiopia became a charter member of the United Nations (UN) in 1945 and immediately made strong demands for the former Italian colonies of Italian Somaliland and Eritrea. The peace treaty of February 10, 1947, which ended the war with Italy, also terminated the Anglo-Ethiopian agreement of 1944, restoring to Ethiopia its traditional territory except for the region of Ogadēn, which remained under British administration until 1948. British administration of Italian Somaliland was terminated by the UN decision to place the area under Italian trusteeship for ten years, beginning in 1950; in 1960 this area, together with British Somaliland, became independent Somalia. In 1952 the UN assigned Eritrea to Ethiopia, nominally as an autonomous unit in federation under the Ethiopian crown.

In 1962 Eritrean autonomy was ended, in a move by the government to establish full control over the ports of Massawa and Āseb. The Muslim-organized Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) began a guerrilla war, at first for autonomy and later for independence, which was to last for nearly 30 years. By the late 1960s about half of the Ethiopian army was stationed in Eritrea. Other separatists, particularly ethnic Somalis in the Ogadēn region, also fought the government.

Demonstrations by leftist student groups, demanding land and education reforms as well as Eritrean independence, led to violent clashes with the police in the late 1960s and early 1970s. From 1972 to 1974, a famine in Tigray and Welo provinces resulted in some 200,000 deaths. News of the famine was suppressed by the government. The general public was unaware of the deaths until late 1973, and further demonstrations against the government broke out on their revelation.

In the early 1970s Haile Selassie continued to play a major role in international affairs, helping to mediate disputes between Senegal and Guinea, Tanzania and Uganda, and northern and southern Sudan. Nevertheless, he largely ignored urgent domestic problems: the great inequality in the distribution of wealth, rural underdevelopment, corruption in government, rampant inflation, unemployment, and a severe drought in the north from 1972 to 1975.